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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1992
T
GOVERNOR:
THAT'S AN ISSUE WHICH WAS RAISED WITH ME BY ONE OR TWO LEGISLATORS JUST BEFORE I MADE MY POLICY SPEECH. IT HADN'T BEEN RAISED WITH ME VERY MUCH BEFORE EXCEPT, I THINK, IN ONE LETTER. I AM PERFECTLY PREPARED TO ASK THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL TO LOOK AT THAT ISSUE. I KNOW WHAT AN IMPORTANT ROLE WOMEN PLAY IN OUR COMMUNITY - IN EVERY ASPECT OF OUR COMMUNITY IT ALMOST BECOMES PATRONISING EVEN TO MAKE THAT REMARK, BECAUSE I'M NOT SURE THAT WE SHOULD MAKE THOSE DISTINCTIONS AS THOUGH THERE WAS SOMETHING CURIOUS OR GRAND OF MEN TO NOTICE WHAT A MARVELLOUS ROLE WOMEN PLAY. BUT I'M PERFECTLY PREPARED TO LOOK AT THE ISSUES RAISED BY YOU IN THAT QUESTION, I AM SORRY I HAVEN'T DONE SO YET,
BUT TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST, IT'S NOT AN INDICATION THAT I DON'T THINK THESE MATTERS ARE IMPORTANT BUT I HAVE HAD QUITE A LOT OF OTHER THINGS TO LOOK AT IN MY FIRST THREE MONTHS.
KIT CUMINGS:
QUESTION:
DOES THAT REASSURE YOU?
HAVE IS THAT COMMUNITY AND IT MEANS THAT CONDITIONS AND BECAUSE OF THE
YES, CAN I JUST ASK, THE WORRIES WE THERE'S A LOT OF PRESSURES FOUND WITHIN THE BUSINESS WITHIN LEGCO AND EXCO NOT TO RATIFY IT BECAUSE BUSINESSES WILL HAVE TO PAY WOMEN THE SAME TERMS AND GIVE THEM THE SAME WAGE AS MEN WHICH IS NOT HAPPENING. LACK OF CEDAW THERE IS NO EQUAL PAY LEGISLATION. SO I THINK THAT'S OUR MAIN WORRY, THAT THERE WILL BE PRESSURE BROUGHT TO BEAR WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT TO MAKE IT GO AWAY SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO PAY WOMEN THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY, WHICH MEANS MONEY OUT OF THEIR POCKET. SO I THINK THAT'S THE MAJOR BARRIER THAT WE SEEM TO BE COMING UP AGAINST.
GOVERNOR:
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CAN I JUST SAY TWO THINGS IN RESPONSE TO THAT, ONE OF WHICH MAY RAISE YOUR HACKLES AND THE OTHER OF WHICH I HOPE WILL HOPE RAISE YOUR HACKLES TRANSLATES WELL INTO CANTONESE AND THE OTHER OF WHICH MAY GIVE YOU SOME REASSURANCE. THE FIRST IS THAT I WOULDN'T WANT TO BE PART OF ANY INTERVENTION IN THE LABOUR MARKET WHICH FETCHED UP WITH WOMEN HAVING FEWER EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES RATHER THAN MORE BUT SECONDLY, ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I ANNOUNCED SUCH A BIG RE- TRAINING PACKAGE YESTERDAY WAS ONE OF MY EARLY EXPERIENCES IN HONG KONG, I WENT TO THE TRAINING CENTRE IN KOWLOON AND SAW SOME OF THE RE-TRAINING OF WOMEN TEXTILE WORKERS THAT WAS GOING ON, RE-TRAINING AS COMPUTER KEYBOARD WORKERS, WORKING WITH CHINESE CHARACTERS FOR THE PRINTING INDUSTRY. THERE WERE ABOUT 30 OR 40 WOMEN OF ALL AGES IN THE ROOM, THEY'D BEEN WORKING IN THE GARMENT INDUSTRY, THEY WERE TRANSFERRING TO A HIGHER TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY AND DOING SO WITH GOVERNMENT SUPPORT; AND THE RESULT OF ALL THAT THEY WERE EXTREMELY ENTHUSIASTIC, INTELLIGENT WOMEN - - AND THE RESULT OF THAT WAS THEY WERE GOING TO HAVE LONG TERM JOBS AND BETTER PAID JOBS. I THINK HELPING WOMEN RE-TRAIN AS WELL AS MEN RE-TRAIN IS ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL, NOT ONLY TO OUR ECONOMIC SUCCESS IN HONG KONG BUT ALSO TO ENSURING THAT EVERYBODY
WOMEN AND MEN HAVE THE CHANCE IN OUR SOCIETY OF
DEVELOPING THEIR FULL POTENTIAL.
THE TROUBLE IS, ONE OF THE CONDEMNATIONS CIVILISED SOCIETIES
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OF CIVILISED
ALLEGED
OVER THE YEARS IS THEY HAVEN'T GIVEN WOMEN THOSE OPPORTUNITIES PARTICULARLY IN EDUCATION.
QUESTION:
GOVERNOR:
I AM A CIVIL SERVANT.
GOOD, YOU DO A WONDERFUL JOB.
/QUESTIONER: IN